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Saavedro of Stratholme: Beyond the Dark Portal
Saavedro of Stratholme, Paladin of the Silver Hand, will be the first of Joshua Underwood's characters to go beyond the mythic Dark Portal - the link between the world of the humans, called Azeroth, and the remnants of the world of Draenor, now known as Outland. History Draenor, the homeworld of the orcs and the refuge of the draenei, was connected by a rift known as the Dark Portal, opened by the sorcerer Medivh, Guardian of Tirisfal, who had been possessed by the Dark Titan Sargeras. Sargeras' lieutenant, Kil'jaeden the Deceiver, had managed to enslave the orcish race and turn them into the bloodthirsty Horde, and use them to conquer the world of Azeroth. Though Sargeras was banished to the Twisting Nether when Medivh was killed by his apprentice Khadgar, the battle against the Horde continued. Khadgar, now an archmage, led an expedition into Draenor almost a decade after the confrontation with Medivh. Khadgar and his trusted lieutenants - the paladin Turalyon, the Stromgarde militia captain Danath Trollbane, the high elf ranger Alleria Windrunner, and the dwarf warrior Kurdran Wildhammer and his gryphon Sky'ree - unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Ner'zhul, the Warchief of the Horde of Draenor, from opening his unstable portals. Though their efforts to prevent the portals from opening failed, resulting in Draenor tearing itself apart, Khadgar and his comrades closed the Dark Portal in order to prevent the backlash from destroying Azeroth. Their fate remained unknown for nearly twenty years... Saavedro's Quest Saavedro had been one of the priests who had blessed Khadgar's troops upon their departure from Lordaeron, along with his master, the High Priest Sekhesmet. Upon learning of the sealing of the Dark Portal after he had returned to Stratholme, Saavedro vowed that he would go across the dimensional barrier himself and find out the truth of what had happened to the men he had given the Light's blessing. Twenty years later, after becoming a knight of the restored Order of the Silver Hand, Saavedro would make good on this promise. Word reached the master paladin in Stratholme, while he was confronting the undead in the Scourge-controlled districts, that Lord Kazzak - a powerful lieutenant of Kil'jaeden who lived in the Blasted Lands, where the Dark Portal stood - had gained an artifact that would allow him to reopen it. The Dark Portal had been a permanent fixture of Azeroth for nearly forty years, and for the last two decades has remained dormant thanks to the apparent sacrifice of Khadgar and his brave troops. Now, the rift was being reopened. Upon hearing the news, Saavedro departed quickly from Stratholme and took a gryphon from the nearby Light's Hope Chapel, flying all the way across the continent to Nethergarde Keep, the Dalaran citadel formerly ruled by Khadgar, in southern Azeroth. Arrival at the Portal Note: This is from the perspective of Underwood playing Saavedro in the beta, under the name "Joshmaul" (as Saavedro was either taken or reserved). Shortly after landing in Nethergarde, Saavedro mounted up on his charger and went swiftly south from Nethergarde to the gigantic crater where the Dark Portal stood. The crater surrounding the Portal was heavily entrenched, Horde and Alliance encampments having sprouted up all over the crater. The gigantic gateway was open by the time he reached it - Kazzak had escaped by the time he reached Nethergarde. Terrified and awestruck at the prospect of leaving his world entirely and visiting the remnants of the orcish homeworld, Saavedro hesitated at first...then jumped into the Portal. What he saw on the other side amazed him. Arriving at Hellfire Saavedro arrived in Hellfire Peninsula, where the Dark Portal nearly dominated the landscape - being far larger than the Portal back on Azeroth. Like on the Azeroth side, large encampments of both Horde and Alliance had sprouted up in order to hold the Portal against any demonic incursions from the other side. Saavedro was approached by the commander of the Alliance post, Commander Duron, who gave him items to take to Honor Hold. But in a battle line in front of the Dark Portal were legions of demons, led by a monstrous Pit Lord. The line seemed to be impassable, but Duron pointed him to a gryphon master, connected to the waiting master at the Hold. Flying to the outpost, Saavedro was met by Marshal Isildor, commander of infantry there, who ordered him to go to the force commander - one of the missing five commanders of the Alliance Expedition, Danath Trollbane. Saavedro rode directly to the entrance to the keep at Honor Hold and went upstairs to where Danath was awaiting him. Danath gave him orders to meet with his lieutenant, Amadi, at the tower west of the Hold, where he would be given his mission to attack the fel orcs that swarmed around Hellfire Peninsula, particularly around Hellfire Citadel. Saavedro also asked where he could locate the leader of the expedition - the Archmage Khadgar of Dalaran. Danath informed him that Khadgar resided in a place called Shattrath City, in Terokkar Forest to the southwest. His sense of exploration taking hold, after defeating several fel orcs and destroying Horde blade-thrower positions along the road known as the Path of Glory, Saavedro set out for Terokkar Forest. Reaching Shattrath Not knowing what lay beyond, Saavedro set out across the red landscape of Hellfire Peninsula to find the way to Terokkar Forest. Terokkar was very different from what he had experienced before - and also incredibly different from Hellfire, in that there was no indication of the energy channels and worlds in the Nether seen in the skies of Hellfire. Danath had instructed him to go west along the road once he entered Terokkar Forest. Following the Force Commander's instructions, Saavedro arrived at the bridge at the entrance to Shattrath, where he encountered his first Draenei - the peacekeepers of the Sha'tar, the faction that ruled the city. Instructed to speak to A'dal, at the city's center, Saavedro made his way through the Lower City and into the upper districts until he reached the Terrace of Light. The palace-like structure projected a beam of light into the sky, as far as the eye could see. It was here that he found out who this A'dal was - he was a being of pure Light energy...one of the fabled naaru. Standing with him, easily recognizable even after twenty years, was Khadgar. The Archmage instructed him not to burden A'dal with "petty inquisitions", and spoke to him briefly about his duties. Khadgar summoned an elemental servant to guide him through the streets of Shattrath and explain the city's story, about how it had been the capital of the Draenei people and how the Sha'tar - which meant "born from light" - had turned Shattrath into a bastion of Light in the remnants of Outland. The Draenei that remained in Shattrath became known as the Aldor. As he was guided through the city, Saavedro listened, mesmerized, as Khadgar's servant told the story of how Kael'thas Sunstrider - the renegade lord of the blood elves and servitor of Illidan Stormrage, the self-styled Lord of Outland - sent his blood elves to attack Shattrath. The blood elf commander, Voren'thal, demanded an audience with A'dal and, after saying that the naaru was the last hope of their people, surrendered his troops. They became known as the Scryers. Khadgar offered Saavedro a choice between aiding the Aldor and the Scryers. After examining the choices - and giving in to the Alliance's prejudices of the blood elves' betrayal - Saavedro offered his allegiance to the Aldor's High Priestess Ishanah in the Aldor Rise, bordering the plains of Nagrand. Returning to the Hold After exploring Nagrand - briefly - and returning to Shattrath to resupply, Saavedro flew back to Honor Hold to continue his early missions against the forces of the Burning Legion. He confronted various foes from demonic footsoldiers to corrupted orcs, from the native life of Outland to the restless spirits of the Expedition's dead, at the shattered armory south of the Hold. He saw many things that were rather astounding: demonic boars, armor-plated voidwalkers, odd insectoid creatures and monsters that burrowed beneath the red soil and attacked without warning. In one battle, near an area called the Path of Anguish, Saavedro defeated a Nathrezim, one of the vile dreadlords, in single combat. Teleportation to the Exodar Returning to Shattrath briefly, Saavedro discovered that there were eight open portals in the city center - three surrounded by Alliance flags to Stormwind, Ironforge, and Darnassus, three surrounded by Horde flags to Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff and the Undercity, and two denoted by their race's banners - a portal to the Exodar in Kalimdor, and to Silvermoon in the Eastern Kingdoms. Walking through the portal to Exodar, Saavedro was astonished that - despite the apparent damage from its fiery descent - the Exodar was relatively intact and able to function at all. It was here that he met a young white-haired Draenei who would become his apprentice - Velenkayn. Starting him on the path of the paladin, Saavedro taught Velenkayn the basics of battle with a two-handed hammer - the more-experienced paladin's weapon of choice - and the basics of healing spells and combat enhancements. After finishing his basic racial training, Saavedro left Velenkayn to his own devices and returned to Outland. Escape from Umbrafen His explorer's spirit taking hold, Saavedro rode west of Hellfire to the Zangarmarsh, a forest of gigantic fungi. He arrived at an encampment made by the Cenarion Expedition, a group of druids that set up shop in Outland shortly after the reopening of the Dark Portal. Tasked by a Broken Draenei to attack the Umbrafen tribe of Lost Ones and their leader Kataru, Saavedro travelled south of the Refuge and began to carry out his duties. After killing Kataru in a battle that very nearly resulted in his death, Saavedro found a tauren druid named Kayra Longmane who had been captured by the Umbrafen. Battling the Umbrafen captors, Saavedro and Kayra managed to reach the Refuge without any severe problems. Exploring Shadowmoon Valley Saavedro continued with his exploration of Outland without hesitation. He learned that an Alliance encampment raised by the Wildhammer Gryphon Riders, an elite division of the Alliance Expedition, had been discovered in Shadowmoon Valley, an isolated and dangerous region east of Terokkar Forest. As he entered the courtyard of the fortress, Saavedro was amazed to discover the legendary gryphon Sky'ree in the courtyard. Venturing into the keep, Saavedro then met Sky'ree's rider - the legendary gryphon master of Aerie Peak, Kurdran Wildhammer. Shadowmoon Valley was incredibly dangerous, and thus Saavedro took the nearest transportation out of the Valley - the gryphons connecting to the other Alliance encampments in Outland. Flying to Telrador, the Draenei-controlled Alliance camp in nearby Zangarmarsh, Saavedro returned to the Cenarion Refuge to continue his battles against the Umbrafen, and any other threats to the Cenarion Refuge. Assault on Hellfire Citadel! Recalled to the Hellfire Peninsula, Saavedro joined a group of fighters sent by Danath from Honor Hold to attack the fel orcs of Hellfire Citadel. First, Saavedro and his party breached the ramparts, where they confronted elements of the Shattered Hand, Bleeding Hollow and Bonechewer clans - clans that were corrupted by the destruction of Draenor. Saavedro had been tasked by Lieutenant Chadwick at Honor Hold to take certain body parts from each of the three major leaders there - the blade-hand of Watchkeeper Gargolmar, a hoof of Omor the Unscarred, and the head of the netherdrake Nazan, mount of Vazruden the Herald. After killing Omor, Saavedro gained the Heart Fire Warhammer, a weapon that gave boosts to his strength and intellect. Reaching the top of the ramparts where Vazruden patrolled on Nazan's back, Saavedro and his allies defeated his sentries, then proceeded to defeat the armored fel orc himself. After killing the Herald, Saavedro picked up a missive from his body - a collection of official looking orders, with the seal bearing an elaborate letter "I". Upon reading it, Saavedro discovered that the orders were in fact from Illidan Stormrage, the self-styled Lord of Outland. After defeating Vazruden and Nazan and collecting the pieces required, Saavedro returned to Danath with the missive. He received orders to attack the next area of Hellfire Citadel, the Blood Furnace. The Secrets of the Citadel Entering the Furnace some days later, Saavedro was charged to explore the area, as well as collect 20 vials of fel orc blood for analysis. He was confronted by elements of the Laughing Skull and Shadowmoon clans as well as a demonic armor-plated monstrocity known as the Maker. Despite minor setbacks, the party was able to defeat the Maker; the demonic beast dropped a paladin libram, the Libram of Saints Departed, which gave the chance for Saavedro's judgements to heal him. Next, they entered some kind of cell-block with fel orcs inside, as well as a floating, multi-eyed beast called Broggok. After defeating Broggok, the party entered deep into the inner chamber, where the Shadowmoon warlock Keli'dan the Breaker and his acolytes were channeling something. Defeating Keli'dan after a fierce battle, Saavedro discovered for himself was the orcs were channeling - a gigantic Pit Lord, Magtheridon, the former ruler of Outland who was deposed by Illidan Stormrage and imprisoned so his blood could create more fel orcs. With his information in hand, Saavedro returned to Honor Hold... Disrupting the Reinforcements Upon returning to Honor Hold from the Hellfire Ramparts, Saavedro was sent to Expedition Point, east of Honor Hold, with orders to combat the demons of the nearby Legion Front. The paladin was tasked by Forward Commander Kingston to disrupt the flow of Legion reinforcements by sealing two major portals on the Legion Front, called Grimh and Kaalez. Kingston gave him primers, designed at Area 52 in the Netherstorm, that would utilize the power of demonic rune stones to disrupt the portals. With his task clear, Saavedro ventured to the northeast of Expedition Point, to the Legion Front itself. There Saavedro confronted demons he had never seen before - the armored Wrathguards, and the multi-armed, multi-bladed Doomwhisperers. After that was done, Saavedro mounted on an armored gryphon to make bombing runs on the portals between Hellfire Citadel and the Dark Portal, and the Legion positions at the Abyssal Shelf, northeast of the Horde's outpost of Thrallmar. The gryphon took him in circles around the positions, where he tossed bombs down on the demon slaves, their overlords and the dread fel-cannons that they had set up. He was also tasked to personally kill more demons manning the positions around the forge camp called Mageddon. After doing so, he was given the duty of sabotaging fel-cannons pointed down at Thrallmar - as much as Forward Commander Brock, the officer who gave the order, hesitated to admit, the Horde was necessary in their combat against the Legion in Outland. Current Location Saavedro is currently at Honor Hold in Hellfire Peninsula. He makes regular trips to Telrador in Zangarmarsh, the Allerian Stronghold in Terokkar Forest, and Shattrath City. Saavedro also frequently travels to Stormwind via the portals provided by Khadgar in Shattrath City, if he requires any form of paladin training - which he has only gone for once since leaving Stratholme for Nethergarde. Stormwind is also the capital closest to Nethergarde, which allows him time to return to the Dark Portal. Category:RPGCategory:Warcraft